An online art project is letting the audience be a part of its creative process.

In the case of most art projects, the role of the public is only to view, comment and admire. Rarely does a member of the audience get to have his or her say in the creative process. It's unusual, therefore, for Saptan Stories to have a foundation where the direction of the art (and the story it tells) is entirely in the hands of the public.

The online project was launched by British Council India and Aardman Animations (creators of Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep) last week and is part of the UK-India Year of Culture 2017. Essentially, it's a crowd-sourced short story campaign that allows the public to vote and decide the narrative.

The story began with the following lines - "I found it hard to get over my broken heart, I thought I never would. Then one night, by the moonlit river, something happened that changed everything." - after which seven artists from India and the UK interpreted the passage and posted their illustrations online. The entire project will be held over a period of seven weeks, leading to a total of 49 works.

Works of freelance illustrator Saloni Sinha. Photo: Mail Today

Alan Gemmell, director of British Council India, says, "Saptan Stories is a unique online storytelling project as part of the UK/India Year of Culture. It is a first-of-its kind online campaign bringing together seven celebrated artists and you (the public) to create a story for India. The artists are Gemma Correll (UK), Tom Mead (UK), Aditra Das (India), Janine Shroff (India/ UK), Gavin Strange (UK), Saloni Sinha (India) and Priyesh Trivedi a.k.a. Adarsh Balak (India). The story plays out in the form of a giant game of consequences across the digital space."

All the seven artists associated with Saptan Stories are unique, says Gemmell, adding, "Each one brings his/her own perspective, sensibility, style and sensitivity while interpreting a story."

Works of Mumbai-based artist Piyush Trivedi. Photo: Mail Today

Adrita Das is a Mumbai-based illustrator who is often found dabbling in religion, dark humour and ethnography; Priyesh Trivedi is another gifted artist from Mumbai who has been storming the art space with his spellbinding and immensely popular Adarsh Balak (Ideal Boy) series of paintings; Saloni Sinha is an illustrator who freelances for a lot bands for their album covers/logos, comic strips and flyers for music fests and events; Gavin Strange is a senior designer for Aardman Animations who uses the alias of JamFactory for side-projects; Gemma Correll is a cartoonist, writer and illustrator; Janine Shroff explores a range of themes including birth, pregnancy and gender; and Tom Mead is a surreal character designer and fine artist, working traditionally with pen drawings on paper or wood.

Saptan Stories isn't the only engaging project that British Council India has lined up for the UK-India Year of Culture 2017. "Some of the upcoming projects that are to follow are a showcase of the silent film Shiraz along with a live music performance by Anoushka Shankar and her orchestra in India as well as the first-ever tour of Company Wayne McGregor - one of Europe's leading dance companies - in India," says Gemmell.

-Go to saptan-stories.britishcouncil. org.in to become a part of the narrative